The name Saqqara brings to mind the famous step pyramid of Zoser, the oldest monumental stone building in Egypt. But as the central burial site of the old Memphis, Saqqara is also one of the largest necropolises, with tombs from nearly all epochs of Egyptian history.
Saqqara, which faces Memphis (the oldest known imperial city on earth) across the Nile, was the enormous necropolis for the first pharaohs. With many tombs believed to be still undiscovered it is Egypt’s largest archaeological site, spanning more than 7 sq km. From its inception it expanded west into the desert until the Fourth Dynasty (2613-2494 BC) when the Giza plateau superseded it. At the end of the Fifth Dynasty (2494-2345 BC) a more systematic construction of pyramids and mastabas began, which resulted in many splendid monuments around Saqqara and some of the most gorgeously decorated private tombs in Egypt. The approach through a forest of date palms and the sweep of the desert beyond are as breathtaking as the multitude of hidden mastabas, ruinous courts and causeways, and the sand-strewn rungs of the step pyramid itself.
